Cyber Security – What a Managed Firewall Will Do for Your Company

It takes an expert to prevent unauthorized access to your firewall security, one who is ready to respond immediately to any detected threat 24x7xAlways.

One of the ways corporations can protect their IT assets from potential cybercrime is with managed network security services. A managed firewall solution affords a variety of benefits – namely round the clock optimal firewall performance that maximizes availability and up-time of services, releases resources, reduces and controls operating costs, and maintains PCI, HIPPA and ISO compliance where applicable.

Protecting Your Network from Intruders

For small to mid-size companies, setting up a firewall solution may seem like business as usual, especially if a firewall is viewed as a level of security that protects the network from intruders. However, firewalls do much more than that, and the available personnel may not be specialized enough to manage all the key components.

For example, let’s say you run a meat packing business. Your IT is critical to the technology you use that runs your assembly line. Hiring a consultant to come in and set up or check on your firewall whenever you need it can get pretty expensive. In addition, a consultant may not be as familiar with your entire IT operation the way that someone who’s truly engaged in its day-to-day operations is. In such a managed approach, the cost is more affordable overall than hiring a consultant at an hourly rate who needs to determine what’s going on with your network before putting a solution to the problem.

If you're going to take a serious approach to protecting your network with a firewall solution, a managed approach is the best way to do it.

Managed Firewall for Disaster Recovery

Suppose your meat packing business is using a T1 connection and the T1 provider has a regional outage. Your meat packers are completely down when it comes to the Internet. If you were planning to ship product that day, you’re stuck. If you were waiting on a delivery to be processed, that's going to be another issue. Under these circumstances, Internet becomes a critical component. In a managed firewall solution, technicians would already be aware of the issue and ready to offer solutions for disaster recovery (DR). They would be building your meat packing company a secondary Internet connection, configuring it over a simple, high-speed cable modem that’s separate from the main T1 line. They would handle all of the service testing and get the new alternative up and running without any unnecessary risk to the business. All with complete end-to-end management.

Managing Internal Security Issues

On any given day, one of your employees could inadvertently expose the company to a security threat simply by entering the wrong website from their computer. They may download some virus or a script or something else that could wreak havoc not only on their computer, but on the entire network –and they may not even know it! Furthermore, you might not be aware of these security threats, either. Why would you know? You’re busy running your business.

When it comes to managing security threats from inside the business itself, a managed firewall solution will protect against potential problems without eating up all your bandwidth.

In addition, when you need assurances that your wireless network is protected from outsiders – including the guy sitting out in the parking lot of your building right now- how safe do you think your wireless network is? Is it also protected by a managed firewall solution?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to take a risk like that.